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January 19, 2006
Denmark: More Christianity In Schools Condemned by EU Human Rights Commissioner
EU Commissioners like to make pronouncements about issues which should not concern them. Earlier Franco Frattini, the vice-president of the European Commission attacked the actions of the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten for publishing its cartoons of prophet Mohammed.
Now the EU human rights commissioner, Alvaro Gil-Robles (pictured left), has made an intervention into Danish national life, criticising the plan to strengthen the teaching of Christianity in Danish elementary schools.
The concept of reinvigorating Christianity within the existing school system was thought up by Denmark's minister of education, Bertel Haarder (below right). He intends to set up a committee to discuss ways of making Christianity as a school subject more prominent, with an emphasis upon Danish Evangelical Lutheran traditions.
Gil-Robles decided that this went against European values, saying "Religion as a school subject should be a general course that attempts to give students insight into the three monotheistic religions. Concentrating religious education on not just Christianity, but on the Lutheranism, is the wrong way to go."
"This is about how we accept outsiders into national communities" he said. "If you need to be a Lutheran to be a Dane, then you lock out all non-Lutherans. Clinging to religion is an expression for a lack of confidence in your national identity."
It appears that if all three monotheistic religions should be taught, then teaching Islam is now "the right way to go" in the human rights commissioner's eyes. And one can guarantee it is a version of Islam that makes no critical assessment of the more ungodly aspects of Mohammed's nature, such as his commissioned killings and consummating a marriage with a nine year old girl.
But, according to Copenhagen Post, the education minister did not take the criticism lying down. Yesterday, on national DR TV, Bertel Haarder said of Gil-Robles' comments: "I find it hopeless. That's just as laughable as when the European Commission sent a delegation to find out whether our municipal reform was a violation of human rights. Making everything a human right weakens the idea of human rights."
"For Gil-Robles to say that we risk coming into conflict with European values is an expression of ignorance of Denmark's educational system. I might even call it a prejudice, but I hope that it's only a matter of being uninformed," he said.
Earlier, we quoted Michael Brodstein, Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Copenhagen, who said that the current political climate seems to be becoming more nationalistic. The role of the state church in Danish life is enshrined within the constitution.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at January 19, 2006 3:08 PM
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